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Roasted Shrimp and Orzo

This recipe is a perfect summer dish, full of succulent shrimp, crunchy cucumber and onion, tangy feta, and spiced perfectly with dill and parsley.  It can be served either chilled or at room temperature.  Best of all, it makes a lot, so a little bit of cooking time ensures you’ll have enough for a crowd of friends or for several meals for your family.

My friend Kelly originally shared this recipe with me back in 2007 from the Barefoot Contessa and I adapted it to my taste.

Scroll down for the printable recipe!

Roasted Shrimp and Orzo

3/4 lb orzo pasta
6 T lemon juice
1/4 cup EVOO  (plus more for orzo water and drizzling shrimp before roasting)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 lb fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup minced scallions
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
1/2 cup red onion, diced
Fresh dill to taste
Fresh parsley to taste
6 oz diced feta

1.  Cook orzo in boiling salted water with a splash of EVOO for 9 minutes.  Drain and put into a large bowl.  Whisk together 1/4 cup EVOO, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and pour over hot pasta.  Stir well.
Roasted Shrimp and Orzo1

2.  Place shrimp on a sheet pan, drizzle with EVOO, and sprinkle with lemon pepper to taste.  Toss to combine and spread out in a single layer.  Roast for 5 minutes or until shrimp are cooked through.  (Mine were done in 4 minutes.)
Roasted Shrimp and Orzo2

3.  Add shrimp to orzo and then add scallions, cucumber, onion, dill and parsley.  Toss well.  Add feta and stir carefully.  Refrigerate for at least an hour to let flavors combine.
Roasted Shrimp and Orzo3

4.  Enjoy!
Roasted Shrimp and Orzo5

I recently brought shrimp back from our OBX vacation and froze it to use for recipes like this one.  During our five days without power we were able to borrow a generator from a kind neighbor for several hours a day to save the food in our deep freezer.  The effort of getting the generator and the expense of buying gas was well worth it to have a scrumptious dish like this to enjoy.  I had to throw out a lot of food but we were determined to save our shrimp and beef and we did!
Roasted Shrimp and Orzo4

We’ll have this for dinner and hopefully will enjoy leftovers later this week on a picnic at the lake.

Roasted Shrimp and Orzo

Roasted Shrimp and Orzo

This recipe is a perfect summer dish, full of succulent shrimp, crunchy cucumber and onion, tangy feta, and spiced perfectly with dill and parsley.  It can be served either chilled or at room temperature.  Best of all, it makes a lot, so a little bit of cooking time ensures you’ll have enough for a crowd of friends or for several meals for your family.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 lb orzo pasta
  • 6 T lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup EVOO (plus more for orzo water and drizzling shrimp before roasting)
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 2 lb fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1 cup minced scallions
  • 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
  • 1/2 cup red onion, diced
  • Fresh dill to taste
  • Fresh parsley to taste
  • 6 oz diced feta

Instructions

  • Cook orzo in boiling salted water with a splash of EVOO for 9 minutes. Drain and put into a large bowl. Whisk together 1/4 cup EVOO, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and pour over hot pasta. Stir well.
  • Place shrimp on a sheet pan, drizzle with EVOO, and sprinkle with lemon pepper to taste. Toss to combine and spread out in a single layer. Roast for 5 minutes or until shrimp are cooked through. (Mine were done in 4 minutes.)
  • Add shrimp to orzo and then add scallions, cucumber, onion, dill and parsley. Toss well. Add feta and stir carefully. Refrigerate for at least an hour to let flavors combine.

  •  

    Roasted Shrimp and Orzo - This recipe is a perfect summer dish, full of succulent shrimp, crunchy cucumber and onion, tangy feta, and spiced perfectly with dill and parsley.  It can be served either chilled or at room temperature.  Best of all, it makes a lot, so a little bit of cooking time ensures you’ll have enough for a crowd of friends or for several meals for your family. #shrimp #orzo #summersalad #salad #shrimprecipe

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    11 Comments

    1. I just recently “discovered” orzo and I LOVE it!!! I’ve cooked mine in chicken broth to give it a little added flavor and richness. The roasted shrimp sounds great for summer. This is definitely a recipe I’ll be making soon!
      Glad you were able to save your beef and shrimp.
      Leslie

    2. That looks so, so good! T LOVES shrimp, so this needs to go on my to-make list. 🙂

    3. This recipe looks heavenly! I never thought to roast shrimp in the oven…I have to try it!

      XO,
      Jane

    4. You had me at succulent!! Oh mercy, this looks wonderful, what time should I show up at your house? 🙂 I just want to take a bite right out of the monitor – but I’ll look kinda silly since I’m here at work 🙂

    5. I don’t believe I’ve ever had Orzo but it looks so yummy and all the ingredients listed are some of my favorites….especially that shrimp…Yum!

    6. Gosh, this looks good, Paula! It has never occurred to me to “roast” shrimp like this, but I’ll bet it’s delicious–I’m going to try it! Thank you for sharing the recipe. I like Barefoot Contessa, but I prefer to have a recipe of hers that has been “tweaked” by someone (a real person without a staff or a fortune to spend on food!). This one looks like a keeper.

      I’m so glad you were able to save your shrimp and beef! What a nightmare y’all have lived through.

      1. Thank you, Cindy! I’m planning to take this dish to a tennis social on Saturday and think that my friends will love it.

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